MATERIAL (MOSTLY RE LUNAR CARTOGRAPHY) FORWARDED BY DON STEININGER ON 15 JUNE 1972

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79B01709A000300050001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 88
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 28, 2007
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 19, 1972
• Content Type: MF

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19 June 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR:
SUBJECT . Material (mostly re Lunar Cartography)
forwarded by Don Steininger on 15 June 1972
REFERENCES : Attached Memoranda; Report of U. S. /USSR
Experts on Lunar Cartography, and its
attachments
1. Probably the most important paper for you in this
bundle is the memorandum of 16 May 1971 from Mr. Frutkin,
Assistant Administrator for International Affairs, NASA, to senior
officials in his organization (the top memo). He notes that, at a
meeting of the UN Outer Space Legal Subcommittee, friendly sources
suggested privately the advisability of proposing that the boundary
between "national air space" and "outer space" be set at 54 nm
(100 km). He asks the NASA officials if NASA has any satellite or
spaceflight prospects for operating below this altitude. Would another
boundary limit be preferable ? He ended by noting that previously
the U. S. resisted a definition of outer space at a fixed altitude.
2. The remaining papers relate to the joint U. S. /USSR
meeting of experts in the field of Lunar Cartography, which met in
Washington D. C. 8-12 May 1972. I think you may find my paragraph 5
of interest.
3. The two delegations :recommended that lunar cartographic
activities be undertaken:
a. to conduct a joint development of
basic principles for compiling lunar maps--including
standard scales, a coordinate system, cartographic
projections, etc. ;
b. to develop a joint program for compiling
a complete map of the Moon at 1:5, 000, 000 scale; and
NRO review(s)
completed. NGA Review
CONFIDF.NTTA T, rmmnlc+nr!
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c. to develop a common basic system
of selenodetic coordinates. /Selenography is the
study of the surface and of the Moon. "Selenodetic"
equates with "geodetic", the latter referring to the
Earth. /
4. The remaining material is made up of both Soviet and
U. S. reports. My impression is that the Soviet reports are much more
generalized than those furnished by the U. S. , the latter containing a
great deal of detailed and technically imaginative information.
I discussed the Lunar Cartography meetings with
who was a U. S. participant. He stated that the meetings
were very interesting, that there was good rapport between the Soviet
and U. S. participants, and that it was clearly evident that the know-how
of the Soviets in obtaining positions of points on the lunar surface was as
good as ours. They assumed that the U. S. participants knew much
more about their lunar cartographic efforts than was, in fact, the case.
told me that one of the women Soviet scientists gave him the
following information. Their ZON]D 6 and 8 vehicles were both once-
around flybys of the Moon reaching no closer than 2-3, 000 km and as
far away as 10, 000 km while taking photography. The camera focal
length was 400 mm and the frame format 15 x 18 cm. Obviously, the
photography was greatly inferior to the U. S. Apollo photography of
the Moon. It was returned to earth by automatic retrieval. The
LUNA 9 is now orbiting the Moon. They would not discuss what it
might be accomplishing. conjectured that, if LUNA 9 were in 25X1
polar orbit, it might conceivably photograph the entire Moon's surface
in 28 days.
6. I do not see any security problem regarding the lunar
cartography meeting and the related papers that might cause you concern.
Attachments
C. n1\TF`m1'NTTro T
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16 May 1968
MEMORANDUM FOR: knot for distribution)
SUBJECT: Discussion with Ed Risley and Bob Porter
1. On 13 May 1968, I lunched with Edward Risley,
Executive Secretary of the Committee on Space Programs for
Earth Observations, Advisory to the U. S. Geological Survey
(COSPEAR/GS). This Committee is considered part of the
National Research Council. Robert Porter, responsible officer
for NASA's Earth Resources Satellite Program, was also present
at the luncheon. Both have___~learances. The following remarks
2. Ed Risley, as a staff member of -the National Academy
of Sciences, works in the interests of the scientific community and
with many from foreign countries. He is involved with scientific
meetings of various sorts to which foreign scientists are frequently
invited. He is oriented toward the "white" side of the earth sensing
from space by use of satellites. As a result he has had his problems
with the DoD with regard to clearance of proposed papers, attendance
of foreigners at meetings, etc. The attached report by Fred Doyle
was presented at a meeting in Texas before revision, after approval
of the text by DoD. Later NRO disapproved having 25X1
it presented by Fred Doyle at a meeting in Canada. Its publication in
"Photogrammetric Engineering" is also not allowed. This type of DoD
response to basically unclassified technical information is rumored to
be of some concern to interested members of the American Society of
Photogrammetry. Release of the Proceedings of the Woods Hole
Conference of last summer is also being held up at the present time,
since portions relate to earth sensoring from orbital satellites, I
do know, however, that a few copies,at least,of Volume I,have been
distributed within the Government.
3. Ed Risley tends to favor a separate "white" effort for
earth resource surveys and is a bit unhappy about complexities of
problems that might arise from the ARGO exercise.
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He feels that major contributions can be made by use of a variety
of sensors recording above the established "threshold", realizing
at the same time that benefits must be measured against costs and
availability of funds. He feels that, under present security
conditions, those U.S. social and physical scientists who hope to
keep at all current in their research in the resources field need
clearances. At the same time, he recognizes that living
in two worlds ("black" and "white") creates frustrating experiences.
4. Bob Porter said that he had had a lot of feed-back
from his remarks at the ARGO briefing seminar in early March
and was really surprised that so many attending were concerned
about his statement regarding NASA's intention to carry out its
ERS program. He feels that there is a good deal of sympathetic
understanding of the program among CIA people, but that the DoD
people just don't want to see it established and are putting up
roadblocks.. He believes much more attention needs to be given
to policy matters inherent in the management of these two somewhat
parallel programs, each carried on separately. He worries about
how to sort out future collection requirements in terms of which
can be most effectively fulfilled by "black" versus "white" programs.
He has the impression that DoD dislikes open discussion of currently
unclassified sophisticated sensor instrumentation, and heard a rumor
that DoD has the lid on Ed Risley
later talked with representative who knew nothing about this.
25X1
25X1
5. Bob feels that, in terms of cost and benefits, more
policy consideration should be given to possibilities of letting certain
types of unclassified sensors ride along on some future classified
missions, with proper share of cost assigned to these secondary sensors,
the data from which would be publicly available. This should result
in eliminating undue duplication in mounting missions. He also feels
that a hard look should be given to policy regarding retaining data
in the system, and would hope for at least partial declassification,
with due regard to, essential national security. He would not be
surprised if the President at some future time would step in to help
clear the air. He feels that the benefits of maximum unhampered use,
particularly in the economic field, to the U. S. in its foreign aid. and
in its need to understand foreign markets and investment potentials,
in large part override many present rationalizations for maintaining
high security treatment, especially when we know pretty well what the
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Soviets are doing in their reconnaissance programs, and they must
be rather knowledgeable regarding the quality of the data obtained by
our reconnaissance satellite missions.
6. The following remarks on the attached report by
Fred Doyle, (who does have Oclearance and therefore, as author, 25X1
enhances the security problem envisaged by the DoD) do not stem
directly from the discussion at the subject meeting. You may be
interested in scanning the whole paper, but I am noting points of
possible special interest:
a. On page 1 -- percentages of world-wide
and U.S. coverage -by compiled maps of various scales.
b. On pages 4 and 5 -- under "Orbital Restraints",
the last two sentences in first paragraph on page 5 and the
illustration on page 6.
c. . On pages 5, 7, and 8 -- the section on
"Resolution and Map Scale".
d. On pages 11. and 12 -- the summarization of the
"Camera System Capability" and the following paragraph.
e. On page 12 -- the RCA anticipated vidicon
performance for EROS.
f. On pages 15 and 16 -- the NASA data
recovery capsule as described in the last two paragraphs
on page 15 and page 16.
g. On page 18 and following -- the section
"Is It Economically Feasible." The values are not
necessarily those currently quoted within the MC&G
community, but they are close.
i
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(Revised for publication, December 1967)
Frederick J. Doyle
Chief Scientist
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY
National Science Foundation
Visiting Scientist Program
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Frederick J. Doyle
Within the memory of many men now alive, maps were made by the
ground surveyor lugging his theodolite, plane table, and alidade across
the plains and up the mountains. In the years following World War II,
the ground surveyor was largely replaced by the cartographic aerial camera
and the photogrammetric plotting instrument. This innovation produced
quantum jumps in production, geometric accuracy, and content of topo-
graphic maps.
Where Do We Stand Today
At the present time fully ninety percent of all new map compilations
are produced photogrammetrically. Yet in spite of more than half a century
of effort, the mapping task is woefully incomplete. Around the world only
about half of the land area is covered by principal arcs of triangulation,
and much less than half by first and lower order triangulation. The status
of compiled maps is indicated in this table.
World Map Coverage
Quality
Small Scale Medium Scale
Large Scale
Remarks
1:600,000 1:75,000
1:75,000
and to
Smaller 1:600,000
and
Larger
Adequate
--- 15%
5%
}
Principally
Require Revision
30% 5%
5%
U. S. and Europe
Inadequate
70% 40%
10%
Nonexistent
40%
80%
Adequate
U. S. Map Coverage
96%
64%
Inadequate
4%
4%
Noriexis tent
---
32%
Data compiled by Army Map Service, and exclude Antarctica
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Of primary concern is the fact that the rate of obsolescense of
existing maps nearly equals the production of new maps, so that with
present techniques the job will never be completed. Furthermore, the map
production cycle is about three years from photography to printing so that
the new map is three years out of date on the day it is published.
Geographers would like to see the million scale map of the
world (IMW) completed. They state that most 1:250,000 maps are deficient
in content. They need large scale 1:25,000 maps of all populated areas.
Geologists, engineers, and other map users need similar scales. However, of
first priority to all is the rapid revision of existing maps. Some sort of
Parkinson's Law operates to make maps most difficult to compile and most
rapidly obsolete in precisely those areas where they are needed most
urgently. Maps of large urban areas should be.recompiled annually. The
current cycle in the United States is five to ten years.
The Gemini Photography
The use of the artificial satellite as a camera carrying vehicle
is expected to provide a jump in mapping capability comparable to that
which the airplane made over the ground surveyor. The Gemini photography
was made with an ordinary hand held Hasselblad camera. On missions 5 and
7 photographs were made of the Cape Kennedy launch area. These two pictures,
never intended for cartographic purposes, were used to revise the plani-
metric detail on the existing Army Map Service 1:250,000 map of the area.
In another application of the Gemini photography, the U. S.
Geological Survey compiled a mosaic of most of Peru, parts of Bolivia
and Chile. Control points were selected from existing 1:1,000,000 maps
and identified on the individual Gemini Frames. These were then rectified
and photograph tilts of as much as 40? were removed. Despite 20,000 feet
of topographic relief a reasonable match was obtained, and the resultant
photomap gives a view of the country never seen before.
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But these are baby steps. What could be done with a system
actually designed with cartographic objectives in mind?
Map Requirements
Before exploring the potentialities of space cartographic
systems, it would be well to recall the requirements for producing maps.
A topographic map contains three kinds of information. The
first is content, i.e., the details which are represented on the map.
Content is provided by photographic resolution and scale, or more directly
by ground resolution. In this area the exact capability of space photo-
graphy remains to be demonstrated. For a variety of reasons it seems
probable that the ground resolution obtainable with a given lens-film
resolution will be higher from space than a simple geometric extrapolation
from the scale of airplane photography would indicate. A useful criterion
to apply is that the photography can be enlarged until its resolution is
equivalent to between 10 and 20 line pairs per millimeter. This will
present all the information which the human eye can extract without en-
larging the map scale by magnification. Not all map information is
obtainable directly from photography, regardless of its scale or ground
resolution. Data such as political boundaries, place names, and detail
obscured by vegetation must be compiled on the ground or from other sources.
It is estimated that if the suggested resolution criterion is applied,
about 80 percent of the total map information can be extracted from the
photographs.
The second kind of information is the position of the objects
shown on the map. For some applications the relative positions of all
objects will be sufficient, but it is usually necessary and always
desirable to attempt to specify all positions with respect to some well
defined coordinate system, either local or national. Map positions are
indicated by the reference graticule: longitude and latitude, state
coordinates, or military grid lines.
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NOW
The third kind of information is elevation - generally shown
by contour lines above a reference surface - usually mean sea level.
In the United States, criteria for position and elevation on
maps exist in the National Map Accuracy Standards. Applied to photo-
grammetric mapping,these standards, and the higher resolution criterion
defined above, result in the values given in the following table. A fixed
contour interval does not necessarily go with a given map scale. An
interval fine enough to depict the terrain will be chosen.
MAP ACCURACY REQUIREMENTS
Map
Std. Error
Ground
Contour
Std. Error
Scale
Position
Resolution
Interval
Elevation
1,000,000
300 meters
50 meters
500 meters
150 meters
250,000
75
12.5
100
30
100,000
30
5.5
`i0
15
50,000
15
2.5
25
8
25,000
7.5
1.3
10
3
The numbers in this table represent the objectives against which
a space cartographic system should be evaluated.
Orbital Constraints on Photographic Coverage
It is immediately clear that if full coverage of the Earth is
required, a near polar orbit is necessary. Of course, if mapping is to
be restricted to specific areas, orbits of lower inclination can be
employed. But for elementary discussion only near polar orbits will be
considered.
An orbit is approximately fixed in inertial space and Earth rotates
beneath it. At practical altitudes the satellite period is approximately
1 1/2 hours and in that time the Earth will rotate some 22 1/2? of longitude,
i.e., about 2500 km. Since no reasonable camera can cover 2500 km on a
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single photograph it is necessary to arrange the mission such that consecu-
tive days will fill in the gaps. There exist so called "resonant" altitudes
at 4, 145, and 303 nautical miles, at which each day's coverage would
exactly duplicate the preceding day and the gaps would never be filled.
In order to perform the gap filling function efficiently, it is necessary
to make compromises in selecting orbital altitude, eccentricity, and
inclination. Although orbits as low as 80 n.m. can be flown, for several
reasons including spacecraft lifetime, an altitude of about 125 n.m. (232 km)
is desirable.
As illustrated in Figure 1, the other critical parameter is the
width of the ground track covered by the camera. This dimension, divided
into the 2500 km between consecutive orbital passes will determine the
minimum number of days in orbit which would be,required to obtain complete
coverage in the gaps. Quite obviously, if the spacecraft can remain in
orbit for more than this minimum time, it will get more than one look at
each spot. This is clearly desirable in view of the cloud cover which may
be expected.
Resolution and Map Scale
The relationship between camera focal length, orbital altitude,
lens-film resolution, and ground resolution is shown in Figure 2. For
a wide angle cartographic camera, current technology limits average lens-
film resolution to approximately 50 lines per millimeter. Thus, as indicated
by line 1, a standard 6 inch camera, flying at 125 n.m. altitude, with this
resolution, would produce a ground resolution of about 27 meters. Comparing
this number against the resolution requirements stated earlier, it is evident
that such a camera system would provide map content adequate for maps at
about 1:500,000 scale. In order to obtain the 12 to 15 meter resolution
required for maps at 1:250,000, a frame camera of 12 inch focal length,
indicated by line 2, would be required.
To produce adequate resolution for the larger map scales with
wide angle camera systems restricted to 50 lines per millimeter would
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COVERAGE WIDTH = MINIMUM DAYS IN ORBIT
Figure 1 - Coverage of Satellite Photography
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Figure 2 - Relation Between System Parameters
;'GrWrid. Resaiutiar as, a
fun tionaof ca{.:.Length,
Tilt, Flying hteight and
tens-Fi1ni Resb tioi
P400Scale...
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require cameras of extremely long focal lengths and unreasonable film
formats. For this reason consideration is given to panoramic cameras
which are capable of producing resolution. between 100 and 200 lines per
millimeter. Such cameras, however, have inherently poor geometric fidelity,
and cannot satisfy the requirements for position and elevation accuracy.
Line 3 on the chart shows that a 24 inch panoramic camera at 150 lines per
millimeter could produce about 2 meters ground resolution - adequate for
standard maps at scale 1:50,000, or, by relaxing the resolution criterion
slightly, for maps at scale 1:25,000. Panoramic cameras require sophisticated
and expensive photogrammetric instrumentation not generally available. For
this reason an eventual operational system for producing or revising large
scale maps may well go to longer focal length, narrow angle, frame cameras,
which might attain 100 lines per millimeter and a corresponding ground
resolution of 3.5 meters. The ground width covered by such a camera would
necessarily be small. As a consequence the satellite would require a very
long lifetime in order to be able to photograph any desired area with
vertical pictures, or else the camera would have to take oblique pictures
to the side of the ground track.
Geometric Map Accuracy
At an elementary level, the position and elevation accuracy
obtainable by photogrammetric procedures is:
dP = f dx
dP = ground position accuracy
dH = ground elevation accuracy
H = flight altitude
B = distance between exposures making up a stereo pair
dx = accuracy of image measurement
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v
Stereo base B is obtained by exposing the photographs at time
intervals such that some part of the.ground area covered by one photograph
is also covered by a following photograph.. With the 6 inch standard
camera, consecutive photographs overlap by 60 percent and B = 0.6 H. In
order to obtain adequate B with a 12 inch. camera, a film format of 9 x 14.5
inches is proposed with a 9 inch dimension perpendicular to the flight
direction. Consecutive photographs will overlap by 67 percent, and
a stereo model will be composed of alternate photographs. This arrangement
will provide an effective B = 0.8 H. Because 24 inch cameras have a
narrow field of view, they cannot achieve adequate B by overlapping ver-
tical photographs. Consequently two cameras will be required in a
"twin convergent" configuration with one camera directed forward along
the flight line and the other directed aft. If the angle off the vertical
is 20? for each camera, the effective base in each stereo model will be
B = 0.7 H.
The current level of accuracy in recovering the position of
an image on a single photograph is approximately dx = 0.005 mm. This
is representative of the relative accuracy which can be obtained in a
single stereo model. However, as every photogrammetrist knows, a stereo
model must be scaled, positioned, and levelled before geometric map
data can be extracted from it. Conventionally this is done by reference
to ground control, and errors accumulate alarmingly as one departs from
the control.
In this regard, satellite photography will have an enormous
advantage over aircraft photography. The satellite orbit is mathematically
predictable, and if the time of each camera exposure is recorded precisely,
the position of the camera can be accurately determined. Furthermore, as
shown in Figure 3, a photograph of the star field can be made in synchronism
with each terrain photograph, and measurement of the stellar photograph
will provide the absolute angular orientation of the camera to a few seconds
of arc. These data are equivalent to having ground control in every stereo
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b - TIME BETWEEN
EXPOSURES + 0.5 MS
H - EPHEMERIS
RECONSTRUCTION
A1K-ATTITUDE
RECORDING CAMERA
Figure 3 - Exterior Orientation of Satellite Photography
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model. The consequence is that errors will not accumulate to the same
extent when the photographs are triangulated in a strip or block, and a
value of dx = 0.020 mm is expected to be a reasonable estimate of the
absolute accuracy with which image positions can be recovered.
If the appropriate values of H, f, B and dx.are applied for the
three camera systems under consideration, the values listed in the following
table are obtained.
GEOMETRIC MAP ACCURACY OBTAINABLE
Altitude H (125 n.m.)
Focal length f
Relative accuracy position dP
elevation dH
Absolute accuracy position dP
elevation dH
6 inch
camera
232 km.
152 mm.
12 inch
camera
232 km.
305 mm.
24 inch
camera
232 km.
610 mm.
7.7 m
3.8 m
1.9 m
12.8 m
4.8 m
2.7 m
30.7 m
15.2 m
7.6 m
51.3 m
19.0 m
10.9 m
If these geometric numbers and the resolution numbers previously
discussed are compared with the requirements for mapping at different
scales, the capabilities of the three camera systems can be summarized.
CAMERA SYSTEM CAPABILITY
Relative Mapping
6 inch
camera
12 inch
camera
24 inch
camera
Content for map scale
500,000
250,000
25,000 to 50,000
Position accuracy for map scale
25,000
25,000
10,000
Elevation accuracy for contour interval
50 m
15 m
10 m
Absolute Mapping
Content for-map sclae
500,000
250,000
25,000 to 50,000
Position accuracy for map scale
100,000
50,000
- - -
Elevation accuracy for contour interval
200 m
50 m
- - -
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The 6 inch system could satisfy the requirement for world wide
small scale 1:1,000,000 and 1:500,000 mapping. The much more serious
problem of medium scale 1:250,000 mapping, could be satisfied by the 12
inch camera system which also has the important capability of providing
adequate geometric control for the preparation of large scale 1:50,000
and 1:25,000 maps. The content for these large scale maps could be
provided by the 24 inch camera systems. Thus an ideal system would be
composed of both the 12 inch and 24 inch cameras. This would largely
satisfy all current requirements for mapping at scales smaller than
those needed for actual engineering construction.
What Are The Prospects
A year ago, the Department of the Interior announced its project
EROS - for Earth Resources Observational Satellite. Although a number of
proposals are under consideration, the most promising seems to be a camera
system designed and built by RCA Astroelectronics Division. The camera is
the ultra sophisticated child of the highly successful camera used in the
now operational TIROS TV weather satellite system.
the TIROS and the new vidicon are as follows:
The characteristics of
TIROS
EROS
1/2 inch
2 inch
Picture area
1/4 inch square
1 inch square
Resolution
400 lines
8000 lines
Resolution elements
160,000
64,000,000
Sensitivity
0.4 ft. candle sec.
0.01 ft. candle sec.
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In order to meet the requirements of a large number of scientists
in the fields of agriculture, forestry, geology, geography, hydrology,
and. other natural resource disciplines, it is proposed to use three cameras
to acquire photography in three different spectral bands.
These bands are selected to provide:
(a) The sharpest demarcation between land and water areas,
(b) The maximum discrimination of vegetation types,
(c) The greatest penetration of water.
Each frame of the proposed pictures will cover an area of 96 x 96 nautical
miles and will provide a ground resolution of 100 to 200 feet from a
circular orbit at 300 nautical miles. The orbit inclination will be 97?
sun synchronous so that the illumination conditions will be identical for
adjacent orbital passes. The satellite will weigh about 850 pounds,
and can be launched by a Thor Delta from the Western Test Range. Solar
cells and batteries will provide power for the cameras and for a 4
megacycle communication bandwidth required to transmit the pictures to
ground stations. A video tape recorder will store the pictures until the
satellite is within range of a ground receiving station. A lifetime of
at least one year is planned so that repeated coverage can be obtained
to determine the time variant characteristics of areas of special interest.
NASA's Lunar Orbiter program has clearly demonstrated the
ability to acquire and transmit extremely high resolution photographs
from space. However, photogrammetrists have learned to be suspicious of
the geometric integrity of transmitted and reconstructed pictures. This
fact and the lack of adequate stereo overlap makes the use of EROS photo-
graphy.for geometric mapping marginal.
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In the Apollo program, it will be necessary to perform a
number of Earth orbit missions to check out various parts of the system
and procedures. NASA is studying the possibility of using one of these
missions to carry a number of Earth sensing experiments. Among these
would be a 6 inch focal length, 9 x 9 inch format, cartographic camera
with a coupled stellar camera.
A study has been performed by Martin.-Marietta Corporation to
define the integration of this experiment with the other sensors and the
spacecraft. They have proposed a new equipment carrier module which would
replace the Lunar Module. It will consist of a welded aluminum truncated
cone enclosure 84 inches in diameter at the experiment mounting end
and 110 inches long overall. A truss, which will support the cone in
the spacecraft adapter, will also serve to support all experiments not
requiring in-flight access or pressurization. The cone itself will be
pressurized and the camera system will be among the experiments in the
pressurized section. The astronaut will have access to the experiment
section through the air lock for such functions as changing the film
magazines.
In operation the command and service module with the equipment
carrier module will have its longitudinal axis normal to the Earth's
surface and the cartographic camera will look down through the base of
the cone. This configuration will provide the astronauts maximum
terrain visibility through the Command Module windows.
The proposed parameters for the Apollo mission are:
? Cartographic camera
6 inch focal length, 9 x 9 inch format
140 n.m. circular, 500' inclination
(provides complete U. S. coverage)
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14 days
(provides 2 looks at every point)
900 frames each covering 210 x 210 n.m.
(limited by stowage in CM for return to Earth)
? Total coverage
13 million square miles
? Proposed launch date
Spring 1969
Manned missions are extremely costly to fly, and they are restricted
in the amount of photographic film and other data which can be physically
returned to Earth. For these reasons, NASA is also considering unmanned
photographic missions, and a study has been performed by Lockheed Missiles
and Space Company to define the characteristics of such a system.
NASA envisions a spacecraft, illustrated by Figure 4, carrying
three 6 inch focal length, 9 x 9 inch format, cartographic cameras. The
use of three cameras will provide the multi-spectral capability for re-
source evaluation in addition to cartography.
The exposed film would be returned to Earth in a data recovery
capsule. This part of the system has been developed and proved by General
Electric Re-entry Systems Division for use in several Air Force experimental
programs.
The general procedure is to mount the experiment instrumentation
(cameras in this case) in the spacecraft and to feed the data (exposed film)
to the attached re-entry vehicle. When the data acquisition mission is
completed, the recovery vehicle is separated from the spacecraft and re-
enters the atmosphere. A parachute is deployed and the data package is
snatched by aircraft. The spacecraft itself is then deboosted and splashes
into the ocean. The recovery technology is clearly available. It remains
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REENTRY VEHICLE
Figure 4 - Schematic for Film Recovery Satellite
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to adapt the re-entry vehicle to the handling of photographic film. It
is estimated that between 100 and 200 lbs. of exposed film could be
returned from a single mission. With the vehicle in a sun synchronous
polar orbit, with a lifetime of 3 weeks, a single camera could photograph
nearly 30 million square miles. If the film load were divided among three
cameras, the system could cover the entire United States in several spectral
bands with a high probability of getting. successful coverage.
What Are the Chances of Success
When a spacecraft is in orbit, its lifetime is necessarily limited.
Since all costs have been accrued when the lifetime is terminated, the
success depends entirely upon whether the mission objective has been accomplished
during the lifetime. For a photographic mission, this is critically depend-
ent upon the weather--or more specifically on the percentage of cloud free
area during the daylight hours. Many studies of world wide cloud distri-
bution have been performed, and the results of a number of them may be
summarized as follows:
(1) With one look, a satellite will probably photograph 50
percent of the desired area. A second look will probably get 50 percent
of the remainder; a third look 50 percent of what is left. This series
would require an infinite number of looks to get 100 percent coverage.
On the other hand, 4 looks would give 94 percent coverage and 5 would
give 97 percent.
(2) To acquire photography at least 84 percent cloud free
over the United States, a satellite launched in September would require
2 looks for the total southwest and a major portion of the midwestern
and eastern sections; 3 looks would get most of the northwest but would
still lose a section through Texas, Missouri, and the Dakotas.
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Percent of
Probability of success
sunshine
2 looks
4 looks
Over 90
0.99
0.99
80
- 90
0.95
0.99
70
- 80
0.90
0.99
60
- 70
0.82
0.96
50
- 60
0.75
0.93
(4)
The percentage of coverage with an 0.9 probability of 1 or
more cloud free passes is:
2 looks
4 looks
U. S. - summer
84%
98.5%
U. Si - winter
20
77.5
World - all year
17
65
As a generalized conclusion, these studies seem to converge
on the fact that a system providing 4 looks at the areas of interest is
approaching the point of diminishing returns. With a 4 week lifetime
for the spacecraft, the 12 inch camera would get 2 looks, and the 24
inch camera 1 to 4 looks depending upon the configuration selected. One
or two satellites would probably achieve adequate coverage of all areas
which are not perenially cloud covered. To hope to photograph such
areas from a satellite is probably not realistic.
Is It Economically Feasible
Presume that an unmanned satellite is launched carrying both
the 12 inch and 24 inch camera systems, and that a 200 lb. film load is
distributed so that both cameras would be able to photograph the same
total area. Using thin base black and white film and the orbital altitude
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Compared to these costs, conventional aircraft photography in
the U. S. costs the U. S. Geological Survey between $2.50 and $4.00 per
square mile on contract basis. Foreign photography, based on 650,000
square miles in South America, costs the U. S. Air Force about $12 per
square mile for single coverage. Thus purely on the basis of cost per
square mile, space photography, particularly of remote areas, is clearly
more economical.
The problem with these figures is that 1000 square miles from
a satellite would cost the same $15 x 106 as the 9 x 106 square miles.
Looking at the problem in this way, and using $4 per square mile as the
cost of airplane photography, the breakeven point would occur at 3.75 x 106
square miles. That is, if more than 3.75 x 106 square miles of photography
are required the satellite is the economic way to get it.
The fact of the matter is, however, that the total map producing
capability of the United States could not turn out 3.75 x 106 square miles
of conventional mapping in a year. However, the basic reason for this is
found in the number of photographs involved.
Figure 5 shows the coverage produced by conventional aircraft,
photography compared to that which would be given by the 12 inch frame and
24 inch panoramic cameras. Also shown is the area of a standard 1:250,000
scale map sheet.
To photograph the 3 x 106 square miles in the United States,
a standard 6 inch mapping camera flown at 30,000 feet would require a
minimum of 100,000 stereo pairs. The proposed 12 inch camera system
flown in a satellite would cover the same area in about 500 stereo models.
To process 100,000 stereo models is unreasonable, whereas 500 is clearly
within the capability of most agencies.
In addition to the simple processing of 100,000 stereo models,
mappin^ ho nnn.ro, t; nasal nhntnnram rotri n nrnno 1nrr~c -n11111 rent,; ra oP-teral
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TON
1 DIRECT
24" PANORAMIC 74? SWEEP
24" PANORAMIC 44? SWEEP
V-1-71
1:250,000
MAP QUADRANGLE
f = 12 INCH
9 x 14.5 INCH FORMAT
Figure 5 Comparison of Coverage Obtained
From Aircraft and Satellites
FLIGHT
17771 f = 6 INCH
9 x 9 INCH FORMAT
H = 30,000 FEET
f = 6 INCH
9 x 9 INCH FORMAT
H = 12,000 FEET
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the control points for the space photography could be established by
triangulation of the photographs themselves. This is not possible with
the conventional photography because the errors in the triangulation
accumulate with the square of the number of photographs involved. This
is basically what makes it possible to predict that space photography
will be able to do the job at all.
The remaining question is whether the 500 stereo pairs will do
the same mapping job as the 100,000. This is the great imponderable,
because there is no experience in mapping from space photography. The
figures indicate that the proposed systems will probably do the job, if
other parts of the mapping system are given the same attention as the
spacecraft and its cameras.
The final fact is that with space photography, useful products
can be made which are totally impossible from conventional aerial photo-
graphy. These include:
a) A synoptic mosaic of continental areas at scale of 1:1,000,000
or 1:500,000 which is obtainable from the 6 inch photography.
b) Photogrammetric control for maps at scale 1:24,000 anywhere
in the world. This is obtainable from the proposed 12 inch
photography.
c) Compiled maps at scale 1:250,000 anywhere in the world. This
is also obtainable from the proposed 12 inch photography.
d) Large scale, rapid response, mosaics and revised maps for
any selected area in the world. These are obtainable from the
proposed 24 inch photographs.
No economic analysis of space cartography would be complete
without consideration of the data processing part of the map production
routine. Only about one third of the current processing involves the
photographs. A cartographic satellite does not improve the remaining
two thirds. But it drastically alters the inputs, both in type and in
quantity. The formats and focal lengths of space photography may be,
to a large extent, incompatible with the current data reduction instru-
mentation. Clearly, if satellite photography is to be useful on a pro-
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duction basis, detailed consideration and planning is required throughout
the whole course of the map making cycle. This extends as far as a re-
education of map users who may find it necessary to revise their notions
of what is an acceptable map.
Conclusion
We see before us both an opportunity and a challenge. We have
the prospect of obtaining a knowledge of the Earth's surface and its
resources in detail which we could not have imagined ten years ago.
Our generation may be in the position to complete the world mapping
task which was started 5000 years ago when the Babylonians first put
stylus to clay to guide a caravan across the desert.
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 Ccl~~ 7d,-7L
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18 January 1968
MEMORANDUM FOR:
SUBJECT: Meeting of the Subcommittee on Geography of
the Committee on Space Programs Advisory
to The U. S. Geological Survey
1. The Committee on Space Programs for Earth
Observations, Advisory to the U.S. Geological Survey, of the
Earth Sciences Division of the National Research Council -
National Academy of Sciences /National Academy of Engineering
(what a title!) has a Subcommittee on Geography as well as other
subcommittees covering fields of interest to the Department of
Interior. (Attached is a copy of a statement issued by the main
Committee in August 1967.) Funding has been by NASA, and a
line item on the program for $400, 000 is carried in the Interior's
budget for FY ' 69. The money is used now for support of
university and private industry contracts and National Academy of
Sciences support.
2. In NASA, the space applications program is under
Dr. Newell (about 2% of NASA's budget or $100, 000, 000 in FY 168.
)
There is hope for more in FY 69. An increasing amount of this
space applications money can be expected to go into the earth
resources program. Problems of the Earth Resources Disciplines
(SAR) are under Bob Porter (who has been with NASA for only a
month or two). The Earth Resources Flight Programs (SAB) are
under Mr. George and have to do with -hardware, instrumentation
teams, etc. Bob Porter is the man most closely associated with
the group with which I met. He has had a lot of help and advice from
General Smart and from General Cabell.
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3. The Committee convened at 0930 on 15 January 1968
and spent most of the day in reviewing contract proposals and
procedural matters. I arrived in. the late afternoon and took part,
with a very few other guests, inc:Luding Paul A. Adams of the
AF Science Advisory Board and a Rand consultant, in discussion
of a forecast for the geographic applications program over the
next few years. The next day was devoted to a resume of NASA's
interest in the work of the Subcommittee, presented by Bob Porter,
and to vu. "::us problems and prospects of how geographic approaches
and training could contribute to the earth resources program. The
meeting broke up at 1530 on 16 January 1968,
4. The discussions, when I was first present, revolved
around the thought that the geographic approach could best be
directed toward the inventory, over time, of enviromental changes
through the effective use of appropriate remote sensors. The
objectives of the geographic applications program were to improve
the future use of the land, monitoring change, and to predict changes
that might effect the use of the earth's resources. There was much
talk about land use analysis and metropolitan studies. I ventured
to say that the categorizations to be developed should be responsive
to the needs of planners and those involved in the management of
our own and possibly other countries' resources. On the morning
of 16 January, Bob Porter unknowingly backed me up by pointing
out that the Bureau of the Budget would want evidence of how the
group's objectives and goals would be of help to individual agencies
of the U. S. Government and to national goals generally.
5. Bob Porter pointed out that the EROS/ERS program
must have goals that can be expressed in dollars and cents. What
are the areas to concentrate on in terms of cost effectiveness? He
personally felt that there was considerable support for a ERS
program that could predict useful, practical results.
6. Although it was recognized that many domestic tasks
could make excellent use of the experimentation with remote sensors
2 ti?'^9
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now undertaken from aircraft platforms, the purpose of the.
Subcommittee's meeting was to discuss remote sensoring and
its potential from orbiting satellites. , Typically, one member
said that geographic applications should be interested in
inventory of natural and human resources: What is where;
dynamically what will be where in the near future; and why?
In my own mind the Subcommittee must express these thoughts
in terms of practical problem -s olving.
7. Roughly $1 million. has been funded and encumbered
through January 15, 1968, for studies in this field. The Bureau
of the Budget will want to know how effectively this has been
allocated and is being used, The group did not feel that any
excuses were necessary--since the field of investigation is new
and much thinking and experimentation with specific sensors, in
simulated fashion, have taken place.
8. It was decided that analyses of land use and metro-
politan problems are the n}ajor tasks, that the mapping of pertinent
data from available photography is a means of portrayal, and that
training and education in the use of sensor data and their potential
and, more importantly, the manner of building meaningful and
widely useful data banks were essential to getting the job under way
and oriented toward future uses as the state of the art advances,
9. Mr. Bickmore, from Britain, described the experi-
mentation in high speed and accurate digital information input for
computers programmed for cartographic purposes. We, of course,
are aware of much of this type of activity. His work is being funded
at Oxford's Cartographic Laboratory by Britain's Natural Environment
Research Council. Mr. Bickmore's remarks started a discussion
in the field of data banks of information on earth resources that
might be obtained through the geographic applications program. The
3
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many remarks, drifted into the potentials and possible difficulties
of unrestrained international cooperation, with the U.S. in large
part serving the smaller nations with computer read-out on
request. Some diplomatic problems were recognized. One
member felt that hot infra-red sensors in orbit could, with proper
analysis, provide a better measure of the GNPs of individual
countries than could all the statistical work of economists! He
did not address himself to the hardware problem involved to
obtain such data from orbit. So went the discussion - some of it
very interesting and fruitful, and some which seemed to me to be
quite impractical within the foreseeable future,
10. Prior to the next meeting, which will be on 25-26
April 1968 several reports will be prepared, one in particular
addressing itself to the potentials for inventorying earth resources
with earth orbiting cameras providing 100 foot resolutions with and
without TV transmission. There will probably be similar approaches
with respect to other types of sensors to determine minimum
resolutions required.
11. The participants were seriously involved, and I am
glad to have had the opportunity to have been an observer.
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COSIMITTEE ON SPACE PROGRAMS
FOR EA:IT;I OdsF.RVATIONS, ADVISORY
TO TISE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
OF THE DIVISION OF EARTH SCIENCES
DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATIONAL SATELLITE SYSTEMS
The Committee believes that the mission of the U. S.
Geological Survey requires. the immediate development and program-
ming of small, automated satellites which are currently within
the state-of-the-art. Two classes of satellites are deemed
necessary:
a. A long life satellite with advanced TV cameras provid-
ing repetitive observation of the earth's surface, for the
purpose of assessing earth resources.
b. A short life satellite providing one time observation
of the earth's surface with a physical film recovery system,
for the purpose of control extension and map compilation.
To satisfy the first objective, the Committee strongly
recommends that the USGS, in collaboration with other interested
agencies of government such as the Department of Agriculture,
urge upon NASA the selection and. development at once of a program
necessary to effect the flight by 1970 of a satellite having
the characteristics for a first system described in the published
Earth Resources Observation Satellite (EROS) specifications of
the Department of interior and the initial ERS specifications
of NASA.
The Committee, having studied the applications and benefits
of such a system, affirms that initially it should have a
minimum life of one year so that. changes in terrain conditions
can be assessed throughout the seasons. Resolution of the
advanced TV cameras should be between 100 and 200 feet in order
to provide necessary discrimination of significant features
without exceeding reasonable data transmission rates.
The spectral resolutions for the imaging systems calling
for three wave lengths in the visible and solar infra-red
spectrum as described in USGS and Department of Agriculture
memoranda are compatible for plotting purposes and will accomplish
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observation of (1) the surface configuration; (2) the distri-
bution of water; (3) the distribution and quality of vegetation;
and (4) land use and population distribution.
Since 1970 is the year of the national census, it is con-
sidered particularly important that the satellite system be
operational at that time when a maximum of "ground tru n" will
be available for correlation with the satellite imagery.
Delays in making a decision on proceeding with one of the
several technically sound proposals now before NASA will result
in an unnecessary stretching out of the program and consequent
loss of data vital for resource exploration and management.
With regard to the second objective, the Cartography
Panel of the Committee has noted that the geometric integrity
of photography is impaired by the process of transmitting and
reconstruction specified in the EROS/ERS plan. Further, the
higher ground resolution (better than about 20 feet) required
for cartographic tasks requires a data transmission rate that
cannot be economically attempted by presently envisaged TV
systems. The Committee is aware that earth observation satel-
lites using the film recovery technique can now be constructed
and operated with a high probability of success.
The Committee recommends that the USGS and other agencies
with a mapping responsibility collaborate with NASA and with
industry in developing the specifications for a class of small
(about 1,000.pound payload in orbit) automated film recovery
satellites which will be complementary to the first generation
EROS/ERS .
The Committee believes that cameras with focal lengths of
6, 12 and 24 inches are available or can be built. These con-
figurations could yield ground resolutions from 125 ri.m. altitude
on the order of 30, 15 and 5 meters respectively.
The 6-inch system could be used for world-wide small scale
mapping at 1:1,000,000 and 1:500,000. Maps of this scale are
required as a basis for plotting the earth resource data obtained
from the EROS/ERS TV satellite.
The Committee believes that greeter attention should be
directed to the 12-inch camera possibilities. This camera
system could provide the data needed for medium scale maps of
1:250,000 scale and, at the same time, provide geometric control
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for the preparation of 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 large scale maps.
The lack of such control is, in many parts of the U.S. and
the world, the fundamental ira;pediment to the co,roilation of
large scale maps. -
The 24-inch camera systems can provide the detailed
content for the compilation of large scale maps.
In summary, the Committee believes that both long li".e,
low resolution TV satellites for monitoring the earth's sur-ace,
and short life, high resolution film recovery satellites for.
precision mapping are required, and are technically and economically
.feasible. Both can be deployed by the small class booster
(Thor Delta or Agena) at relatively modest cost and would
provide data of inestimable value to the disciplines represented
by this Committee. It is strongly recommended that NASA
proceed with all necessary additional steps to assure a first
flight of a prototype of each of these systems at the earliest
possible date and by 1970 at latest.
8/11/67
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2 January 1968
Comments on Working Draft Entitled
"Security Handling of Satellite
Reconnaissance Material"
1. Ed Proctoras comments are on the attached buckslip
and copy of draft, personally feels that subparagraphs
Zb and Zc are useful in order to jog the Director's memory. /The
flow of thought would, in fact, be smoother by omitting sub-
paragraphs 2b and 2c and the reference in paragraph 3 to sub-
paragraph 2a. As an alternative, subparagraphs 2b and 2c could
be combined into a single 2b by omitting the present 2b, adding
after publications in line 3 of present: 2c "including permissive
identification of source as tsatellite photography"', and replacing
the rest of the sentence after 1960 in lines 5 and 6 by "to permit
acknowledgement of the fact of a U. S. satellite photographic
reconnaissance program at the SECRET level. "/
2. In the absence of Art Lundahl,
Hank Knoche, and agreed that the draft was fine.
They felt, however, that the paragraph 9 would probably strike the
Director as obvious and could therefore be omitted.
3. I haven1t been able to reach Carl Duckett
told his secretary that he knew nothing about the draft.
are both out today--the former for the
The buckslip of 27 December to the DDS&T was for
25X1
25X1
~r~~r,,/""? 25X1
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28 November 1967
SUBJECT: Display of Camera/Reproducer Systems
for Spacecraft Applications
1. On 20 November I visited th* display of the
equipment described in the attached materials. I was given a
very interesting briefing and it appears that the developments
could provide good real-time imagery readout for low-resolution
purposes. The one problem that is bothering in this system
is storage of information between readouts to ground stations.
2. been developing this system on its own,
without Government contract, in the hope that it will meet some
of the requirements for EROS, the U'SGS reconnaissance
satellite which is still expected to be flown--not in 1969 as
originally planned but possibly by 1970.
3. Please return the material to my files after you,
and any others interested, have noted them. I have sent
copies to for his retention. He was very
interested in receiving them.
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NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING
2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20418
COMMITTEE ON SPACE PROGRAMS
FOR EARTH OBSERVATIONS, ADVISORY
TO THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
OF THE DIVISION OF EARTH SCIENCES
MEMORANDUM
TO: Staff Officers of Divisions, Offices, and Committees
FROM: Edward Risley
Subject: Display of Camera/Reproducer Systems for Spacecraft
Applications
The Earth Sciences Division is showing a new high-resolution
camera/reproducer system for spacecraft applications, on Monday
and Tuesday, November 20 and 21, 1967 in room 702 of the Joseph
Henry Building, 2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. It may be seen
at any time on these dates between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and
4:00 p.m.
The sensor chain on display was developed by RCA to
fulfill anticipated mission requirements for an Earth Resources
Satellite in providing data on agriculture, geology, geography,
oceanography, hydrology and other related fields. It uses a
camera designed to scan a scene on earth. 100 miles square from
a height of 500 miles, sending back: a picture with a ground
resolution of 100 feet. The TV picture will have 6,000 lines,
as compared to the 525 lines of the home TV image. The highest
resolution yet used in space is about 800 lines.
The significant advance in TV cameras was made possible by
a two-inch return beam vidicon tube developed by Dr. Otto H.
Schade, of RCA's Electronic Components and Devices Division. A
laser beam image reproducer converts the vidicon's signals into
a picture by scanning conventional photographic film with a
beam of laser light.
The system,now being evaluated by NASA and several other
agencies of Government, was demonstrated for the first time on
October 23, 1967 at the Fourth Annual Meeting of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Anaheim Calif.
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MAJOR ADVANCE IN SPACE TV CAMERA SYSTEMS
The Model QTV-8 Return-Beam Vidico- Camera System, designed and developed by the Astro-
Electronics Division of RCA, represents a major advanae.in satellite-borne TV-camera systems.
A new, unique image sensor employed in the camera yields-the highest image resolution and sen-
sitivity ever achieved in a satellite television camera. This sensor, a 2-inch return-beam vidicon,
operates on the principle of bea " modulation, and incorporates an electrostatically focused elec-
tron multiplier to amplify the current of the modulated scanning beam. The high gain achieved
by the multiplier results in aeatly improved signal-to-noise rates for the entire system, and en-
ables successful operation at tower levels of light excitation.
FIVE TIMES THE RESOLUTION CAPABILITY OF PRESENP.IDICON CAMERAS
The resolution capabili of the system is 5000 TV lines - approximately five times the resolution
of present vidicon cameras for satellite applications! Equipped with a 130-millimeter focal-length,
f/2.8 lens and placat a satellite altitude of 500 nautical mules, this system will provide coverage
of a 100 x 100-Obtical mile area at a ground resolution of approximately 10feet per TV line.
ELECTRONICALLY TRIGGERED, VARIABLE-SPEED, FOCAL-PLANE SHUTTER
An electronically triggered, variable-speed, focal-plane shutter allows picture-taking over a wide
range of ene brightness and provides uniform exposure of the vidicon. The camera system is a
complete functional entity, requiring only 24-volt DC power from the spacecraft. The video out-
put of he system may be fed directly to the modulator of the spacecraft communication system.
C--RCA SPACE CENTER ? ASTRO-ELECTRONICS DIVISION
TAINKIR OWN
a C111
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TECHNICAL SUIMMARY
MODEL QTV-8 RETURN-BEAM VIDICON CAMERA SYSTEM
Image Size (scanned area)
Camera System Resolution
Power requirements
Weight
Spectral Response
ON
- TE T I AL APPL110-ATM
The Model 2TU 8 Return lean Vidi oit_ _C mera Sy tem
desiga ~Ifginally for e n the earth Resources lip
gram. However-th = f l i i ron p biili d ns vity
Electromagnetic
Electromagnetic
5000 TV lines (100 cycles per millimeter)
30 pounds
11 x 18 x 8 inches (includes Camera Head
and Electronics Assembly)
e
thy; sys em make it ideal for a variety of spacea missions,
suer _ sync ronou meteorological col nervations eor, rwzn=
n is one f t sate( e_ t laced at synch rono s sat Mite alts
tude i;; system will pr vids!multaneous verage ofa a
0 t 50 nautical ~3tl area at a ground resolution _of .
Ipproximel 1 nautica
a~t l mile per_ TV time
se I
the ibl me d ns to the Was _ ystem are lien
t e,= p s ti s, ca ~ time, a d 1YS fr d bandwidth.
"
l eceua ~ he speoe tti
N6 WE d sign osad n tl sy em,
the Q V S can la c stew space camera programs with
s ist ilr tiait wings in cost n development time
Within each RCA camera system the individual circuits are
packaged according to function; that is, individual circuits
are replaceable as individual mechanical entities. (Typical
packages are sensor, high-voltage power, video preamplifier,
timing, etc.) Such circuit packages are made as small, as
lightweight, and as rugged as possible and are individually
subjected to environmental tests much more severe than
those imposed on the overall system. Therefore, the user
can conceive systems directly in terms of pre-engineered,
pretested, compatible building-block components. (The
modular concept is carried to its maximum extent within
the present state of the art by RCA's use of integrated
circuits, which enable complete electronic circuits to be
packaged in a unit roughly the size and weight of a single
low-power transistor.) During the overall design and fab-
rication effort, this modular construction technique reduces
interface problems and therefore reduces integration time.
The extreme ruggedness which is built and then tested into
the individual assemblies provides a high confidence level
even when selecting new configurations, and minimizes the
necessity of rerunning environmental test sequences.
Successful applications of RCA's television components and
circuits have proven the soundness and versatility of the
production versions. For further information contact: Market-
ing Manager, Astro-Electronics Division, Defense Electronic
Products, Radio Corporation of America.
11 --- 00T 0 Ttl tT _z NAME I L NI
31 A
A TRO-E`LEc RONIGS DI l li 1
---------- ----------------
?1 f EL f ~?NI C RR ffDUCT
-----------------
__} PRINC N, EW JERSEY
--- -----------------
------------- -
-----?_.--~. ..k...Y..-~.,c .n.... e.._-' ire-rY . 0
Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79B01709A000300050001-3
-- --------------------------------- --
 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BO1709A000300050001-3
HIGH QUALITY FILM COPIES OF VIDEO IMAGES NOW POSSIBLE
RCA's Laser-Beam Image Reproducer provides high-quality film copies of video images. It can be used to reproduce the
picture output of ultra high-resolution television cameras and line-scanning systems in orbiting spacecraft.
The need for an instrument with the resolution-reproducing capabilities of the Laser-Beam Image Reproducer (75 percent
response at 6000 TV lines) arose with development of a new television sensor for the Earth Resources Observation Sat-
ellite. RCA is introducing the Laser-Beam Image Reproducer as the first ground-based instrument to meet the resolution
capability of any TV sensor or line-scanning system.
ENTIRELY NEW CONCEPT OF VIDEO REPRODUCTION
The Laser-Beam Image Reproducer (LBIR) consists of a laser, light modulator, beam-enlarging optics, imaging lens, a
four-sided mirror fastened to the shaft of an air-bearing-type hysteresis synchronous motor, and a film-transport table.
The reproducer, which uses a high-intensity, Helium-Neon gas laser, has the necessary small spot size and high writing
rate needed to reproduce high-resolution, hard-copy pictures.
The laser beam is modulated by an incoming video signal and is then formed by optical components to provide a record-
ing spot of high-energy intensity. The spot is deflected by a high-speed scanning mirror which produces the horizontal
scan. Vertical scanning is accomplished by moving the film-transport table past the scanning beam. The scanner and film
table motors are precisely locked to the video synchronizing signals for good geometric fidelity in the reproduced pictures.
The Laser-Beam Image Reproducer can be used with high-resolution TV sensor., such as the RCA Return-Beam Vidicon
Camera or the RCA Dielectric Tape Camera and with high-resolution fine-scanning systems, including those that observe
the scene directly or those that scan an already exposed film (e.g., the Lunar Orbiter system).
A single-firame output of the LBIR corresponds to a full frame from the ultra high-resolution camera. Therefore, no mo-
saicking or piecing together of portions of an individual picture is necessary as is done presently in lower resolution repro-
ducers. The lower resolution reproducers cannot display simultaneously the full frame and the maximum data resolution.
The LBIR full-frame capability eliminates the following problems of mosaicking (1) interfering edge transitions, (2) photo-
metric inconsistency, and (3) lack of registration due to display non-linearities, such as kinescope pincushioning. These
features are especially important for reproducing large-area scenes from high-altitude satellite observations.
RCA SPACE CENTER
ASTRO-ELECTRONICS DIVISION
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BO1709A000300050001-3
VERSATILITY .r~
The LBIR becomes more versatile by the addition of varied operating rates, a roll-to-roll film-handling feature, and a
"quick-look" facility. Fifty-foot film rolls (cassettes) with provision for automatic film advance on a frame-by-frame
basis can Ibe used. For a quick determination of system performance, the image can be reproduced directly on a "rapid-
access" photographic paper and developed in 15 seconds with a rapid processor. If an archival film image is desired,
photographic film can be exposed, developed, and processed in 1-1/2 minutes.
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
I e Format:
9 x 9-inch image
lr-age Quality:
Resolution
75% response at 60110 TV lines
(S ptical line-pairs Pat millimeter
on 9 x-inth image)
limiting response
beyond 15,010 TV lines
Tone Reproduction
2 -gray steps
Density Unifori ity
Linearity
0.5%
Record ni Rate:
Scanning
1 00'; lines per second
t r uency Response
5 MHz within - 0.5 db
15 milliwatts CW
Helium-Neon'
6328 A
LIGHT
MODULATOR
110 volts, 28 amperes, AC, single phase
SCANNER
BEAM IMAGING AND DRIVER
PROCESSING FILM ON
DRIVE VACUUM
THE MOST TRUSTED NAMIE IN ELECTRONICS
ASTRO-ELECTRONICS DIVISION n DEFENSE EI ECTRONIC PRODUCTS
RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA ^ PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Light Modulator:
Ferroelectric crystals
No piezoelectric effects
105 volts peak to peak for full modulation
Contrast greater than 100 to 1
AGC for laser output stabilization
Automatic black-level control
Keyed clamping
Gamma correction
]Beam enlarger with spatial filters
Laser imaging lens corrected to 1/10 wavelength
1 volt, black-to-white signal (a-c coupled)
+66 inches wide, 23 inches deep, and 54 inches high
temperature of 650 to 90? F.
Operates in a normally lighted room at ambient
..~~ ., u. .. rr?rnrcocnicTOnrnSOS~ nca/QCN_206-67
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79B01709A000300050001-3
From:
RCA Defense Electronic Products
Astro-Electronics Division
Princeton, New Jersey
Release: Wednesday, October 11, 1967
This print of the Salton Sea was reproduced by the RCA Two-Inch
Return Beam Vidicon-Laser Beam Image Reproducer. The photograph
was originally taken during the Gemini 5 flight.
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BO1709A000300050001-3
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BO1709A000300050001-3
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 F_
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28 November 1967
SUBJECT: Display of Camera/Reproducer Systems
for Spacecraft Applications
1. On 20 November I visited the~display of the
equipment described in the attached materials. I was given a
very interesting briefing and it appears that the developments
could provide good real-time imagery readout for low-resolution
purposes. The one problem that is bothering =in this system
is storage of information between readouts to ground stations.
2. ~ has been developing this system on its own,
without Government contract, in the hope that it will meet some
of the requirements for EROS, the USGS reconnaissance
satellite which is still expected to be flown--not in 1969 as
originally planned but possibly by 19110.
3. Please return the material to my files after you,
and any others interestec, have noted them. I have sent
copies to for his retention. He was very
interested in receiving them.
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 SECRET
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2 November 1967
Potential Role of COMIREX in Programs
for Peaceful Uses of Earth Orbiting
Sensors
1. Under DCID 1/13, COMIREX shall advise, assist
and generally act for the USIB on matters involving the coordinated
development of intelligence guidance for imagery collection by
overhead reconnaissance. Within this framework, it is expected
to maintain cognizance and keep the USIB advised of the plans and
capabilities of all Government agencies for the collection of
imagery by overhead reconnaissance. It is expected to provide
a focal point for the expeditious exchange of information in the
interests of coordinated procurement programs.
2. To what extent should COMIREX monitor and/or
coordinate civilian activities in planning and developing earth
orbiting vehicles and sensors that approximate those that are
being used or contemplated in the covert program? To what
extent should COMIREX monitor the development of earth orbiting
sensors, developed by civilian agencies, that might yield useful
and timely intelligence information not obtained by covert
reconnaissance sensors?
3. (feel strongly that
the MC&G Working Group should be charged with tasking out
responsibilities that might be placed on COMIREX in these fields
and that the membership should be revised to include selected
individuals from civilian agencies, such as Commerce and Interior.
I personally tend toward establishment of a, separate working group
if COMIREX is to become involved in the problems described above.
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 SECRET
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4. I refer you to my memorandum on the ARGO Steering
Committee meeting of 27 October 1967 which mentions that the
formal presentation of the results of ARGO is scheduled for
11 January 1968. In view of many articles in professional and
technical publications and minutes of advisory committees on
earth orbiting applications programs, as well as the probable
very favorable reac ions of high officials to the findings of the
ARGO Project, and I both believe that pressure
will increase to tidy up the activities on the overt and covert
sides of earth sensoring by reconnaissance orbiting vehicles.
If it is judged that COMIREX has a role to play, this role should
be clearly defined as soon as possible. It would also be useful
to have the mechanism established for carrying out necessary
tasks and for those who might be involved in a coordinated group
to be selected and engaged in identifying the more important
problems that might arise.
5. would like to meet with you and me
and with whomever else you might desire to discuss the types
of questions that are implicit in the above paragraphs.
6. To illustrate the status of the thinking of some
people on the overt side I am providing a few excerpts as follows:
"Commercial Development of Space Urged, " Aviation Week & Space
Technology, May 15, 1967:
It is expected that the Government will be the major
market for spacecraft and systems for the next decade
or more. There are many satellite programs being
studied and many more are expected after the initial
success with remote sensing from the weather
satellites and the Gemini flights. The Interior and
Agriculture Departments are planning data banks for
the future, tailored to keep pace with population expansion
and changes for the planning of resources. To provide
these data satellites are planned in sufficient number to
provide continuous surveillance of the free world's land
and water masses with remote sensors, and ground
systems to receive the data inputs, analyze, and store
the pertinent information for :ready use.
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 SECRET
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With radically new approaches to the use of computer
systems necessary for analyses, storage and retrieval,
and the constant improvement in high resolution remote
sensors, the applications of satellite surveys are being
continuously increased and extended.
"Remote Sensing Techniques Considered Most Promising.
Technology Week, June 5, 19670
Agriculture is participating as a junior partner in what
promises to be the biggest remote sensing project in
history, the Earth Resources Observation Satellite
(EROS), along with the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, and the Depts. of Commerce, Interior,
and Defense. Agriculture's role is concentrated in
ground "signatures" and automatic data analysis (TW,
Feb. 13, p. 34), but Secretary Orville Freeman fore-
casts a time when the Department will have its own
satellite.
From: "New Horizons for Earth Studies from Space. " A paper
presented by Winston Sibert, U. S. Geological Survey, at the U. N.
Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Far East, Canberra,
Australia, March 8-23, 1967:
The EROS program will be evolutionary, that is, the
resolution of the data produced by the various sensors
is expected to be improved as new technological advances
are incorporated. Ground image resolution of about
100 to 200 feet is expected from the television camera
system that will be used in the initial EROS flights.
Through the evolutionary process, it is expected that
in time direct-viewing instruments can be developed
to provide ground resolution of 10 to 20 feet and that
stable film-base material can be returned to earth for
study and extraction of detail by various mensuration
techniques. An intensive research program will be
conducted to develop the ultimate remote-sensing system
as now conceived.
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BO1709A000300050001-3
MW U, KL
I August 1967
MEMORANDUM FOR: 25X1
SUBJECT: Additional Note to that of 27 July 1967
re Woods Hole Conference
1. You will recall that I was to have lunch on Friday
with Bill Fischer of the U. S. Geological Survey to question him
on his views of progress at Woods Hole on the NAS/NRC study
being undertaken there this summer at NASA's request. Bill was
pessimistic regarding the possibility of pulling together a meaningful
report on the discussions held there regarding Earth Resource
Applications of Spacecraft.
2. He noted that the so-called sensor "experts" from
each discipline were not coordinating: their views, were not consider-
ing the incompatibility of the use of some of them in unison, not only
in terms of not understanding problems relating to configuration and
power difficulties, but even more in terms of a lack of appreciation
of light conditions required for sensing different types of phenomena.
3. In mentioning the emphasis placed by the economic
types on cost benefits to each discipline, Bill was concerned that no
recognition was given to the great number of man years, not to
mention equipment, that would be needed to exploit and analyze the
data, particularly by those who want frequently repeated coverage.
4. Bill told me that the NASA boys, reflecting Mr. Webb's
views, were strongly pushing for the manned craft. He added that the
EROS, as a "white" unmanned satellite, is very much alive and
apparently is grudgingly accepted--at least not unalterably opposed--
by Mr. Webb's staff. Although initially there were strong views
against EROS expressed by the top leaders who were really upset by
the lack of coordination, many people involved in this general area of
endeavor were glad to see that action was being initiated to go for an
unmanned "white" earth viewing satellite. Several foreign nations
want to cooperate where possible.
E< <
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79B01709A000300050001-3
27 July 1967
MEMORANDUM FOR:
SUBJECT: informal Note on Conversation with
Participant at Woods Hole Conference
1. In conversation with Warren Nystrom, Executive
Secretary of the Association of American Geographers, I was
given some flavor of the meetings of the Earth Resources Applica-
tion of Spacecraft Group of the series of study groups called by
the NAS/NRC at Woods Hole at the instigation of NASA.
2. The Earth Resources group met for three weeks,
mostly in early July 1967. Dr. Booth, a physicist, was appointed
by NAS/NRC as over-all chairman of the Earth Resources Group.
He turned out to be a very poor organizer, called three successive
preliminary meetings to select men from the various disciplines
as potential participants, then ended up by phoning others to
determine his personal preferences. The programming at the
Whitney Estate at Woods Hole was very poor although the surroundings
were beautiful.
3. The Earth Resources Group was broken down into
(1) Forestry, Agriculture, Geography, and Geology; (2) Cartography_
and Geodesy; (3) Hydrography; and (4) Meteorology. Soon after the
first sub-groups met, it became evident that the geologists couldn't
agree with the rest of their sub-group, so the geologists essentially
formed a separate sub-group, leaving the others to be called the
FAG sub-group (Forestry, Agriculture, and Geography).
4. Each sub-group had its own ideas of the types of
sensors and vehicles needed, the number of orbits required per
time period, the resolutions desired from photography, etc. NASA
consultants seemed to be pushing for manned space platforms, while
many of the participants felt non-manned vehicles would be adequate
and more feasible in the nearer future. There was talk of television
or electronic relay of data to earth stations:.
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5. Nearly each discipline had associated economists who
timated the costs of constructing and orbiting vehicles and the
benefits in dollars per year that would be derived for each discipline
from results obtained from various alternative-collection systems.
There was little real information for these cost-effectiveness
approaches and great variations resulted.
6. Warren Nystrom showed considerable compassion
for the third study group which later this summer will be engaged
in drawing up a final report of over-all findings and recommendations.
He thought the lack of coordination during the study sessions would
make the final task extremely difficult How useful the report will
be is problematical.
7. I'll be seeing Bill Fischer of the USGS tomorrow.
He went to Woods Hole as a consultant to the Earth Resources Group
and can speak on a cleared basis.
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r,Li=LT
28 March 1967
25X1
The following points may be of interest with respect to
paragraph 4 of the attached memo:
1. Environmental information portrayed at various scales
is a recognized military requirement. The nature of the terrain and
surface materials, the types and densities of vegetation, and the
hydrology and soil moisture conditions are among the factors of
interest particularly to the Army. More R&D in the study of color
photography for analyzing and mapping the distribution of significant
environmental data should be of great benefit to the military. Much
can be done in varying color densities, etc. , to assist in photo-
interpretation. Also exposure parameters are important and contro-
versial, particularly the sun angle.
2. The reference to compatible data reduction procedures
brings to mind a report that the UNAMAC can be used to obtain
orthophotos in color. Color separations can be made on plates and
introduced individually into the UNAMViAC for scanning. This means
three runs for the three primary colors. The resultant color-separated
films can then be processed to obtain the full color orthophotos.
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79B01709A000300050001-3
28 March 1967
To:
From:
Subject:
Memos re MCGWG Material.
-i , -. rs - ruse 44113111V 01
16 Marc h 1967 to the Director, Defence Intelligence Agency (DIAMC)
was sent to you for information and nt for any action at this time
x_ &z_
interest of the MCGWG. You sent 26 copies out to all
ti
i
pa,r
c
-
pants under cover of MCGWG-D-8,
2. A copy of another memorandum, dated 15 March 1967 and
relating to geodetic data support of a, program is also being sent to
you for information only and not for any action on your part.
3. wants to have the opportunity to coordinate such internal
DoD questions prior to formal preseeniation to the MCGWG, since this
is DIAMC's function. He stressed that he had no objection to your
receipt of information copies of such memoranda but requests that no
distribution action be taken for the reasons given.
Attachments:
1. 16 Mar memo
2. 15 Mar memo.
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79B0l709A000300050001-3
To:
From:
Subject;
Conversation with
17 March 1967
today.
25X1
25X1
In accordance with your instructions, I discussed with
his progress on a report relating to the need of color
satellite photography. In his draft minutes for the last meeting of the
MCGWG, he indicated that was charged with preparing
the report. The draft report is practically finished and
has every intention to provide you with a draft copy by :'Wednesday,
22 March. He will also be distributing draft copies to representatives
of the Army, Navy, and Air Force and would hope that comments could
be received promptly so that the draft could be placed before the
Working Group at an early date.
2. He indicated that the Air Force, and secondarily the Army,
could not justify the use of regular color aerial film in obtaining mapping
and charting coverage from satellite photography, chiefly because of
the degradation of resolution associated with this type of film. The
Navy feels that there might be very substantial benefits to hydrographic
charting and oceanographic studies if {such color satellite photography
could be obtained. The report will also indicate that there is very con-
siderable interest in "color from black and white process' as being
developed by If the film under development
maintains its high black and white resolutions and only slightly degraded
color resolutions, the military could be assured of the high resolutions
necessary for mapping and charting and would also be able to meet many
additional requirements by the analysis of the color images.
3. When was asked to- report aerial measure-
ments in square nautical miles, he indicated an unwillingness to do so.
He said that there would be no problem in converting square statute
miles to square nautical miles but that having square nautical miles
included in various formal papers distributed within the community
could create great confusion in the working level and in the military shops.
He, of course, recognizes that there may be good reasons for using
"nautical miles" and swath widths.
Althougl ow feels that the study being prepared under
direction should not in any way be tasked to staffs or
working groups in the COMOR structure, he does feel that the MCGWG
should be apprised of the fact that the study is under way and that it will
Sri%rlg.probably have some influence on policy in the mapping and charting
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BOl709A000300050001-3
8 February 1967
SUBJECT: Dr. Hornig's Proposal for Civilian
Use of Satellite Photography
1. Attached are advanced copies I picked up in
office of his summary of Dr. Hornig's proposal, ofL____nemo to the
DCI, and of F ]draft of the DCVs response to Dr. Hornig.
2. I affirmed that D:r. Shapley of NASA had been
told by Dr. Steininger about Dr. Hornig's proposal and had bought
it. Owas so informed, so I guess that the people we know in NASA
are fully aware of what's cooking.
25X1
25X1
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BO1709A000300050001-3
1. T Im
02. 1! c1vilt of s- soft t Will be
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'7. All pacts 0 tkts p M Will be CUMM94 So is *t LOS
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BO1709A000300050001-3
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for Cc L 4o d '
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#3 - DDl
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25X1
 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BOl709A000300050001-3
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II
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79BO1709A000300050001-3
14 sc I ,
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25X1
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79B01709A000300050001-3
Copy No.-
- i/
January 1967
3
SUBJECT Report on Meeting with Dr. Donald Steininger,
29 December 1966
1. On 29 December I met with Dr. Donald Steininger and
- of DIA to discuss a draft reply by Dr. Hornig to Mr. Helms' and
Mr. Vance's responses of early December to Hornig's initial proposal
for a civilian review o_material. Steininger's reply is an
attempt to bridge the. gap between our answer which sought to involve
NPIC, at least in the initial stages, and the DIA-Vance answer which
offered E -1 and the Army Engineers. A text of the draft
Hornig reply is attached. There follows below explanations and comments
keyed by number to points in the draft text:
(1) General background: The initial purpose of the civilian
review is to enable certain cleared eople in Interior, Agriculture,
Commerce, NASA and AID to examinehotography to determine 25X1
whether or not this photography would be useful for the purposes
of their respective organizations. They are to make a general
case for the economical use of this photography for peaceful
purposes. They are to prepare a report on their findings on the
basis of which a decision will. be made by the Government (NASA
and BOB?) as to whether or not the US should develop a "white",
overt photo-satellite program for civilian purposes. While it is
generally agreed that NASA would have the responsibility for
launching such satellites (in the role of NRO), there is wide
difference of opinion as to who should exploit that photography
(in the role of NPIC). NASA obviously wants it but many believe
US Geological Survey and Interior (the Aeros Project) might be
better suited, and still others feel the -Engineers and AMS--who
have considerable experience--should be the exploiters. In any
case, decision on this point is down the road; the immediate
problem is how,to handle the civilian "feasibility" review.
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(2) NPIC has indicated that it would be willing to
provide facilities for about ten "civilian" reviewers for
four to six weeks i but would be unable to
house or support any effort lair-or than that or for a longer
period of time. For his part, indicated that AMS was
not at all anxious to house an support this pilot review
but, like NPIC, would be willing to provide continuing liaison
in supporting services as needed if the review were to be
housed elsewhere. Thus we agree that h
facility would be a good comnromise? as
25X1
25X1
25X1
s been approve by for 25X1
and it develops that they have done a considerable amount
of work there on the 'e have agreed 25X1
that first exposures, initial indoctrination and a broad
"overview" of the undertaking could be carried out at NPIC
and if necessary at AMS too but that the bulk of the review
would be conducted .25X1
(3) This sentence touched off a long discussion of the
role tha ight play. Our three-man understanding
at the end of it is that we should avoid letting the civilian
agencies individually approach NPIC or DIA and request films.
Therefore, an agreed single intermediary should be the contact
for the civilian agencies and should in turn be the only
identity to approach NPIC or DIA. It is not vet decided whether
it should be
~~car,eaio
r ct-4or the AMS and serving as a mapping research laboratory for
(~r Our discussion settled on the following chain of functions:
eE.
NPIC - controls release of all films and materials
as sponsor and day-by-day administrator and house-
rovides facility and physical needs
~1
grit Commerce-NASA (status in doubt)
In the light of the above, we have a choice of accepting as the
interface contact point either more appropriately
or more efficiently an NPIC designee. DIA and Steininger
would prefer the NPIC designee, but I have reserved on this until
we can find out how much would be involved. It is understood
with that requests on DIA for film and material would also
channe rough the agreed interface point. In any case,
Steininger fully accepts the right and responsibility of NPIC
and DIA to withhold whatever they must for whatever reasons.
25X1
25X1
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(4) I have reserved onl photography
although I believe that given the kind of security controls
we and DIA are free to exercise there would be little risk
involved. The big problem of course is that once the
civilian agencies discover what they can see
films they will exert great pressure for the inclusion of
these materials in whatever study they make.
(5) I see no problem with this until the time comes to
release the material. And then we will be confronted with
all the doubts and arguments that have plagued the NSAM 156
deliberations. In any event, the responsibility at this point
is ours and we could perhaps force the excision of whatever
we see security problems with. Naturally, this will be
difficult at best since it will effect some of their conclusions.
Perhaps the answer lies in not letting them have
first place (see item 4 above).
(6) The concept of sponsor, Steininger admitted, was a
bureaucratic convenience and the job description for the
sponsor in this paragraph is quite arbitrary. The sponsor is
intended as the interface between NPIC-DIA and the civilian
agencies. While an NPIC designee could serve as the release
point for materials (see 3 above), I do not believe NPIC would
be interested in fulfilling other sponsor tasks. Accordingly,
I would see the sponsor carrying out tasks a. and b. NPIC and
DIA, and AMS too in some cases, should carry out c. although
the sponsor might make the arrangements as in d. In any case,
d. needs further definition. Again, it is up to us pretty much
to choose between or this role. The 25X1
logic o present functions argue strongly for _1.t to
serve as sponsor.
(7) No problem here, and Art Lundahl has already offered
a very extensive panorama of services to help this fledgeling
effort get off the ground.
(8) It is a matter for further discussion how big an
effort in terms of people NPIC and DIA will want to give over
to us. In any event, it should be on a case-by-case rather
than a day-to-day basis. At some point in this paragraph we
should work in some language about the length of time we expect
this initial civilian review to occupy.
a s J t,, +' ~In
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2. CIA and DIA will be asked by Hornig to advise the sponsor
and civilian agencies on the form the report should take. Inasmuch
as this is an effort to deteniiine what overhead photography can do
for a number of physical sciences, the three of us have generally
agrood that the civilian team should attempt to Como up with a
resources inventory type of study for a single geographical area
in Latin America--say Central America. or Venezuela--Colombia. We
have not talked much beyond this, but I will be seeking guidance
from OT3I, ORR and others on this point.
3. Sorry to be so wordy in this initial report, but for the
sake of avoiding confusion in the future I feel that it is important
that you all have a full understanding of these first talks. I
will be canvassing you for your views in the near future. I must
say that the whole undertaking contains the fullest potential for
a fascinating bureaucratic hassle.
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SECRET'
DRAFT
DSS/eac
12-28-66
I would like to thank you for your considered responses to my
memorandum of 7 November proposing a mechanism by which the civilian
agencies can review the usefulness o~
for non-intelligence 25X1
purposes. Based on the comments you have made, I would now like to
suggest a detailed set of guidelines which I believe will conform-to your
wishes and provide a framework within which we can approach the civil
(1)
I propose that our guidelines cover the following points and in
the manner indicated:
1. The designation of the organization and facility which will
provide space, viewing and measuring equipment and technical services
such as photo reproduction, drafting, report reproduction, etc. I believe
facility for this purpose. (2) 25X1
2. The organizations to monitor and approve from a security
standpoint the photography that the agency teams can review and the
disposition of the resulting information. Since the agency teams, using
as their agent, will have to request the film from both CIA
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SECRET
and DOD depositories, I would propose that DIA and NPIC monitor all
(3)
these requests and approve each on a case by case basis. As a
general rule, I hope we can agree now that these teams can review
photography of non-hostile areas;
however, I assume that either NPIC or DIA would make whatever
(4)
exceptions are appropriate as the situation arises. In addition,
resulting from this evaluation shall. be classified
specifically released from that classification by the DCI.
(6)
3. The organization to act as a CIA-DOD sponsor for the
agency teams. I would envisage the sponsor assuming the following
responsibilities:
a. Coordinating the team's administrative needs;
b. Arranging the details of financial reimbursement;
c. Organizing and acting as host for the initial
indoctrination of the teams to the techniques of
photo interpretation and for in-process seminars in
which the teams can, on a fully classified basis,
present their progress and results to interested
people from the intelligence community, the civilian
agencies and the Executive Offices.
d. Coordinating with NPIC and the DIA for their participation
in the indoctrination and the seminars.
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*Awe
SECRET
- 3 -
I propose that who is the custodian of th~
contract, be this sponsor.
4. The mechansim by v,hich the experience and expertise of
NPIC and DIA can be fully exploited in support of the evaluation. In
addition to providing for NPIC and DIA participation in the indoctrination
and seminars, I would like to see a continuous interaction between the
(7)
agency teams and experts from the intelligence community. To insure
this, I suggest that both NPIC and DIA assign individuals from their
organizations who are expert in each of the technical areas of interest
to the agency teams to work with these teams on a day to day basis,
providing advice and guidance in the formulation of the teams' evaluation
(8 )
plan and in the interpretation of the data. Among the areas to be
covered by this evaluation are geography, geology, hydrology, oceanography,
agriculture and forestry.
If these proposals are agreeable to you, I will seek the participation
of the civilian agencies on this basis.
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 T f qTTINITIPT
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w
2 February 1967
Orthophotography as a Possible Method
of Sanitization, and Some Comments on
the UNIMACE
My exploration during the last few days has led up several
by-ways of interest. Since you are going to ACIC next week, you
should know, and may already, that the ACIC has a new AS-11-BC
costing approximately $700, 000 plus (I assume when and if ordered
in some quanitity) which does about the same job as the UNIMACE,
which costs about $1, 000, 000, Probably at DIA's request, the AMS
is currently running a comparative evaluation test on the two in
order to determine the pros and cons of each.
After some thought, I doubt that the application of ortho-
photographic techniques can be of much use in the sanitization of
hotography to the unclassified level.. It's expensive and
time-consuming. It would do a rather good job of concealing the
height factor; but the really important point, in terms of AID use,
is the diplomatic /political problem vis-a-vis foreign governments.
The orthophotography may not be too degraded by the scanning lines
for detailed examination by scientists, but without negotiated
contracts with foreign governments for conventional mapping, the
source of the orthophotography would be rather obvious.
So I suggest that downgrading of original frame (I must say
the scale seems to favor this at an early date) and photography
at some future date - say to SECRET or CONFIDENTIAL - would
appear practical for non-denied areas. The use of the orthophoto-
graphic planimetric and associated contouring, produced for mapping
purposes, should also be made available for the construction of
controlled mosaics of selected areas for the use of scientists and
AID resource inventory studies, with whatever security controls are
deemed essential. The coverage for mapping purposes, however,
will probably not correspond in area. or time with the needs of AID
and civilian scientists. So there would still be real problems of
programming support to the civil agencies.
TnP M.T CLO P_
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This is a layman's understanding of what goes on in evaluating,
processing, and reducing data for use in making maps, and I am
undoubtedly making some errors in the following description.
I shall not spend many words on the method of determining
the geodetic control but the results appear as specific points on frame
photography
After th~ photos have been very roughly evaluated
for general quality, and amount and type of cloud cover (reportedly
done for NPIC), an index layout of a portion of a run is constructed
by matching points along the edges of adjacent selected photos. This
product is a working reference index, giving a gross unadjusted mosaic
from prints of the photos without alteration of scale.
The geodetic and associated points on the frame photos must
be transferred to photos. This is done by a Veri-Scale
Point Marking Instrument. The operator sits at a console, with a
photo and a marked frame photo displayed in front of him.
By manipulating controls, the operator brings the x-y position on the
frame photo directly over the identical point on the The 25X1
position is recorded on an IBM card to an accuracy of . 1 mm. As
many points as needed for each photo are thus established.
The resultant data are then introduced, with detailed data
regarding the ephemeris positions at time of exposure, atitudes, and
orientations of the exposure stations, into the Semi-Automatic
Exposure Coordinate Reader, where, with the use of a photo-multiplier
tube, the x-y position can be located to within 1 micron. Again there
is an IBM card for each position. It is through this process that the
mass of controlling data stored in the UNIMACE computers is obtained.
The UNIMACE is made up of computers, a console with an
operator to monitor and aid the scanning if a problem arises, and
four tables within which are the scanning mechanisms (the scanning
light provided by a cathode ray tube active in two of the tables). As
the scanning proceeds, the mechanisms move the glass plates which
measure 9" by 18" segment occupies the middle of
the plate) containing the image through the x, the y, and the z
(vertical) axes on command of the computers. Two scanning tables
contain what are essentially a stereo model. The results of the
scanning are recorded on negative films in the other two tables. The
films are then taken to the lab for developing. One film will have the
orthophotographic, rectified, planimetric image constructed
n T
T '.r jjL
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constructed through the scanning process. The other will have the
drop-line image of vertical change, similarly rectified so that it
fits the planimetric image. Currently a draftsman must construct
the contours from the drop-line image, but a new computerized
method is being designed or is under construction which will permit
contours to be scribed directly on plates.
The scanning segments on the x axis can vary from 250 microns
to 1000 microns. 500 micron segments are normally used. The
segments on the y axis are 250 microns. The resolution is about
40 lines/mm. Enlargement of the original allows better resolution
still at 40 lines/mm. The planimetric image is thus made up of a
mass of very small segments. These are clearly visible when the
on final scale photography is enlarged by 10 to 20 times.
For material, it takes about two hours per model to finish
the UNIMACE operation when x axis segments are 250 microns.
For 9' x 9' frame images, it takes about 45 minutes. This is a big
argument, in terms of time and cost, for good frame photography
for the construction of the basic ma: p, wit photography for 25X1
-1
use in filling in the details. These large ort op o ographic and
contour segments are then fitted together with proper control in
constructing the map sheet.
Another machine, the V 8 Stereomat, is older and smaller,
but is being improved. It costs about $110, 000. The same
computerized data are needed for it, but it can only use 6" focal
length material. Of course 3" material could be enlarged prior to
input. I don't know the details regarding its scanning segments, but
it takes 3 hours per 9" x 9" model to produce the results. At the
moment it must be run twice to obtain the planimetric and the contours
separately. A request for introduction of an improvement to have the
drop-line run simultaneously is in the works. Quite a bit of work is
done on this machine for the Air Force to determine best routes for
flight to targets in Vietnam. The information for the x, y, and z is
on tape and the computers can be programmed for any solution desired
by the Air Force.
3
Tnp
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 TC)P 5tLlKt: I
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7
11 January 196'
SUBJECT: Problems Relating to the Feasibility of 7 X1
the Use o 'hotography by Civilian Agencies 25X1
1. The report of July 1966 of the NSAM 156 Committee on
"Political and Security Aspects of non-Military Applications of
Satellite Earth Sensing" contained a discussion of many possibilities
for usin hotography for civil purposes. In August 1966,
reference a, the USIB approved COMOR's recommendation that NASA
L V,.
Excluded ft a xu css .,
do rogrut}!ttv nd
decles>l t 1 mi,
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 TOP SECKL I
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00300050001-3
ish a panel representing those scientific and technical discipline=
st~b'
_
~f interest to NASA in order to examine the potential photography
25X1
nd to make recommendations concerning
t
e
s a
quiremen
n me ling its r
ie uesirability of increased NASA participation in the
rogrZ.rn.
25X1
o :?. to no action appears to have been taken by NASA except or V-e
selec-:ion and clearance of a number of appropriate scientists and
technical personnel.
2, Dr. Hornig in reference b took action to get the ball
rolling by proposing to the DCI and to Secretary Vance a method for
providing' cleared teams from several agencies including NASA and
AID to review the potential photography for meeting the needs
of U.S. civil mapping agencies (USGS, USC&GS, SCS, FS, etc.), NASA
(with respect to its earth resources survey), and AID (with respect to
surveys for developmental projects in its foreign aid program).
A feasibility review by cleared teams of scientists,
technicians, economists, and geographers representing the interests
of NSA, AID, and other civil agencies (as proposed by Dr. Hornig)
could profit from technical and advisory support available from NPIC's
expertise on photo interpretation in several disciplinary areas. Such
a review, however, would be primarily oriented toward mapping and
charting at various scales and toward determining the distribution of
significant environmental and physical phenomena. This type of work
ted
ga
i
t
C&G field and has been inves
ithin the M
has fallen broadly w with the use photography in a carefully controlled P1 and
analytic environment where collateral data were not used except in
the evaluation phase as described in reference d. 25X1
with she U. S. Army Engineers' GIMRADA. Task 25 included the
construction and use for analytic purposes of mosaics covering all of
Africa. The evaluation of the PI and analytical work indicated many
inadequacies in using photography of such short focal length. It is
anc
es
t
ns
i
ecific
in some s
d
p
, 25X1
quite clear in the evaluation an
f
increase the utility o
tl
presently classified satellite photography for determining the patte ms
and descriptions of not only military environmental factors but also
of many other phenomena of interest to NASA, AID, and other civil
L"g.encies. For the above reasons, I suggest that AMS primarily, and
NPIC secondarily, should cooperate in the indoctrination and guidance
of the teams conducting the review.
~onducted this work under Task 25 of a contract
y
would grea
photography
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Since NASA apparently did not pick up the ball in
establishing a review panel as approved by USIB, I must concur in
general with the agreements as reached between
Dr. S`eininger, and as set forth in reference c.
However, I do feel that the interface contact point mentioned in this
::nen-orandum should b and that GIMRADA should
function solely as the administrative and housekeeping link in the
setup.
5. Many problems will arise in any operational phase that
might be established subsequent to the review by the cleared teams
operating within a structure still to be decided between Dr. Hornig,
the DCI, and Secretary Vance:
a. An essential problem is of course that
of classification of the photography, the extent to which
clearances would have to be given, the manner in which
'--he information on the photography could be used on an
unclassified basis (partially already established in the
Sanitization Manual) and the possibility of declassifying
actual photos by orthophoto methods. This latter point
raises questions-of cost, time, and certain additional
unresolved technical peculiarities of orthophotography
based on satellite photography.
b. The majority of the interests of the
scientists, economists, geographers, and those in other
disciplines would require extensive analysis of the
photographs themselves. Large cadres of interested
professionals in these many disciplines would have to be
cleared to utilize photography or the photography
would have to be declassified, either directly or by some
method of sanitization. The many interested men in these
disciplines would not be satisfied with being given only the
information derived from the photography, along lines
analogous to selection of the information derived from
photography that is included on an unclassified basis by the USGS
as well as by military mapping services in medium and small
scale map compilations.
c. In an operational stage of utilizing
photography in the interests of a variety of disciplines and
for the most part for presentation in map form, we run
up against the need for specialized and
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 MID ci:rDI:T
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low
presently classified and expensive equipment to handle
t,: e photography. In December 1965 DIAMC reported
in reference e on the findings of a working group which
was asked to examine the feasibility, methods, and
costs of having civil agencies photography in 25X1
their map compilations and map revisions. This group
noted that the most efficient arrangement would be to
establish a central secure facility with special equipment
and other capabilities in the USGS. This facility would
serve the requirements of other civil mapping agencies.
It is my feeling that a photo interpretation and analytical
facility to meet the requirements of various disciplines
as noted in previous paragraphs could be associated with
the USGS facility or be served by it. Such a facility
would, of course, not meet the desire of all who are
interested in obtaining satellite photography for earth
resource studies. In other words, I do not feel that a
quick decision should be made for o become 25X1
the site for an operational facility for the purposes
described in previous paragraphs without careful considera-
Lion of the findings of the working group which prepared the
A eport that was submitted to the Bureau of the Budget in
December 1965.
5. Somewhat along these lines, it is interesting to know that
the Association of American Geographers is intending to establish a
commission on remote sensing and that this commission will undoubtedly
discuss and take actions to develop at least a summer institute to train
younger professional geographers in utilizing data obtained from remote
sensors which the Association expects to have available from EROS and
APOLLO vehicles possibly as early as 1969 or certainly 'n the very
arty 1970s. It is my feeling that commissions will be established, if
they have not already, within other disciplines and that similar training
will be undertaken on an unclassified basis in those disciplines. In other
words, we can look forward to a large number of especially trained
professionals in a variety of disciplines to be impatiently awaiting
satellite photography and data from other sensors.
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,I
vat
UL I
14 November 1966
MEMORANDUM FOR: Chairman, Committee on Overhead Reconnaissance
Briefing Note on the Potential Use of Remote
Sensors for Studying and Recording Data on
the Earth's Resources.
1. The following observations arise from my attendance at
a two-day meeting (October 7 and 8, 1966) of the National Academy of
Sciences - National Research Council (NAS/NRC) Committee Advisory
t, the U. S. Geological Survey's Geographic Applications Program. No
classified information could be discussed and the following account is
written in that vein.
2. From the intelligence community's point of view, the
two most significant aspects of the NASA Earth Resources Surveys
Program (NERSP) and the associated U. S. Geological Survey's Space
Applications Programs, in my judgment, are:
a. The expressed intent to use high-
resolution cameras and other advanced sensors to
observe the earth from orbiting space vehicles within
the time period of roughly 1969-1972 and onwards
(resolutions greater than 20 meters are needed to
fulfill some listed requirements); and
b. The expectation that the results of the
orbital surveys of the earth will be made available to
members of the United Nations. NASA's head of the
NERSP is preparing a. presentation to be given to the
U. N. Committee of Space Research some time next
year. (See memo from OBI, of
2 November, 1966, forwarded to the DD/I, entitled
r !'
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"!']-,e NASA National Earth Resource Program.")
Two Latin American countries have already
indicated an interest in the potential of the
programs as described at a Pan American
Institute meeting in Mexico City this summer.
Not to be overlooked, however, are the immeasurable benefits from
,:h.. of such surveys and c::irltt:i:(ie J:irulinc to our own r lili.t;pry
to iI e economic a11d C111Lor.d }1};1nn.1111;?C?1~ .1111.1 U.:t1':L~l.ll:',U(I
nit?en:, and to the orderly development of the emnerging, less-devc?lop e.d
nations. rapid coverage of extensive areas (many of which have previously
boon relatively inaccessible and unmapped), would provide a now c imension
in area planning and development -- which would be greatly benefited,
incidentally, if up-to-date map bases of large to small scale were available
or use in portraying the distribution of the results of the surveys.
3. The high degree of interest in remote sensors among
scientists and planners from educational institutions, government
departments, and industry was evidenced by the large attendance at a
series of Symposia on Remote Sensing of the Environment at Ann Arbor
and arranged by the Institute of Science and Technology at the University
of Michigan. The first Symposium was held in February 1962; the
second in October 1962; the third in October 1964; and the fourth in
April 1966. During this same period, the NAS/NRC Committee on
Remote Sensing of the Environment was formed and is now promising
to beccmc quite active. A separate NAS/NRC Advisory Committee to
the U. S. Geological Survey on the Space Program for Earth Observation
was also established and presently has three subcommittees under it.
One is the Advisory Committee for Geography noted in paragraph 1 of
the memorandum; another is for geology/hydrology; and a third for
oceanography. A fourth is under consideration for cartography
(mapping), although this may be included with the Committee for
Geography. Another separate NAS/NRC Advisory Committee on Remote
Sensing exists for agriculture.
4. A variety of studies proposed by men (most of w'.-Lo .l,
to the best of my knowledge, have little or no clearance for handling
classified information) working in the above fields have been sponsored
by the Department of Interior (William A. Fischer, who does have
clearances, is Research Coordinator for the Earth Orbiter Program
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for the U. S. Geological Survey), Agriculture, and the Navy, with-
fundin provided by NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications
(SAR) (see Tabs A and B). Proposals for additional feasibility studies
are bei;n,,, actively sought. Many studies are under way, progra..ir:.ed,
or under consideration. Test sites are chosen and so-called ,;round
truth" si:uclies are undertaken at these sites. NASA normally provides
the aircraft and sensors needed for responding to specified requirements
formulated by the researchers (see Tabs C and D). A typical study is
urouosa.l for a $45, 000 project submitted by the Kansas university to
the utility of radar and other remote imagery for ;:hcaiatic
:nd use.. snapping. Under a contract with the University of California/UCLA) test sites have been established in the Southern
California/Salton Sea area for defining the scientific and economic benefits
of remote sensing as a means for exa:ming the resources of a region and
for developing skilled scientists in using imagery and other data from the
sensors. Another proposal from Northwestern University has been
submitted for examining the potential of remote sensing from orbital
spacecraft as a data source for urban and transportation analyses.
Test sites suggested are Phoenix and Chicago.
5. The NASA funding for the Geographic Applications Pro gram,
Conducted as part of the U. S. Geological Survey's program, was nearly
$615, 000 for the period from May 1966 to the end of January 1967. 'T o
date $276, 000 have been obligated, of which $100, 000 are for overhead,
staff, travel, and committee expenditures. Funds can be carried over.
The current contract with Northwestern University amounts to roughly
$50, 000 and that with the University of California, $64, 000. Additional
NASA funding is expected as the program advances. I do not have data
on funding in the other disciplinary fields, but I am sure it is substantially
greater because studies in those areas are more advanced.
6. Gemini photography, at least some of which was taken
by hand-held Hasselblad cameras (with 250 mm focal length lenses and
70 mnn interchangeable color and black/white film packs), produced
startlingly clear imagery and dramatic color conti`ast, as you now.
The viewing of this photography has whetted the appetites of men who
have been interested in exploring the effectiveness of various
sensors for obtaining data required for analyzing a host of problems.
relating to physical and cultural resources (see Tab E).
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,,.roodcsis t:s at Ohio State University are devising a coordinate grid
system to make Gemini photography more useful for broad interpre-
tation. A mosaic of northern South America will be made from
Gemini photography.
7. A representative of the OAS noted the tremendous lack
of data on Latin America and the interest of OAS in coverage by remote
sensing. (As an illustration of what is needed, he exhibited a group of
Traps pr-.. ted at 1:250, 000 scale, based on AIMS photomaps of 1:60, 000
scale constructed from aircraft photography. These materials were
subjected to analysis by 30 photo interpreters. The final maps arc
excellent portrayals of the distribution of hydrology, transportation,
.rainfall, soils, land capability, land use, geology, and population
distribution for Santo Domingo. The magnitude of the effort for this
small country must have been very great, considering the conventional
means that had to be used. }
8. At the October meeting for the Advisory Committee of
Geog raphic Applications, information was provided by NASA
representatives regarding the possible: inclusion of several sensors
in the Apollo and possible other oncoming NASA vehicles. The
potentials excited those present and they are looking forward to
great improvements in image resolution and in other data from
orbiting sensors (see Tab F -- AAP refers to Apollo Applications
Program and ERS to the EROS concept). It was stated that the Apollo
vehicles might reach 50 degrees north and south latitude. It was further
recognized that many of the proposed sensors for inclusion are only in
the R&D stage. Any sensors, if installed, would be greatly subordinated
to the main objectives of the Apollo missions, at least until primary
Apollo objectives are totally ahieved. Also for future inclusion,
panoramic cameras with ?? degree scan associated with 12" frame
cameras were discussed (see Tab G).
9. There was some discussion of direct dollar benefits that
might be realized from use of remote sensor data. It was pointed out
that, for 1:250, 000 scale mapping of the United States alone, 130, 000
stereo-photo models would be needed if obtained from aircraft coverage
and only 1, 200 such models would be required if obtained from orbiting
satellites. Annual savings in maintaining the U. S. Geological Survey's
1:24, 000 map series of the U. S. by use of orbital photography would
amount to $2, 000, 000, and the annual benefit to user groups in the many
L VJ 4L L :L.A iy
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sectors of the U. S. economy which depend on such maps would
approximate $136, 000, 000 at the present time. It was felt that
orbital stereo photography for mapping could. save three to five
years time in up-to-date map maintenance and production for
U. S. coverage.
10. Concern was expressed over the magnitude of the task
for processing, storing, and retrieving the information to be obtained
from the orbiting sensors. It was recognized that automation must
play a larger role in the handling and analysis of the data and that all
possible assistance should be sought from government agencies now
facing similar problems in information processing and maintenance
of data banks.
11. Obviously there is some wishful and naive thinking and
vaguely formulated planning inherent in the discussions at the two-day
meeting I attended as an observer. It seems essential that those
officials involved in managing overhead reconnaissance do whatever
they can to guide and cooperate with those responsible for the Earth
Resources Programs in order that unnecessary duplication in hardware
design and development is avoided, and that maximum use of data from
orbital sensors (admittedly involving appropriate sanitization and declassi-
fication) can be ensured in fulfilling the important objectives of earth
resource surveys for military, economic, and political purposes.
Future configurations of earth orbiting vehicles may be able to fulfill
efficiently (with proper safeguards for the handling of sensitive material)
a greatly broadened, all-inclusive set of requirements for earth
observation from space -- both for intelligence and for all other users
dependent upon improved knowledge of their countries' resources.
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NSA'S EARTH RESOURCES SURVEY PROGRAMS /ITH - OTHER AGENCIES IN
AGRICUL's URE, FORESTRY, GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, HYDROLOGY, AND OCEANOGRAPHY
OUTLINE OF SOME OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPTS. OF AGRICULTURE, INTERIOR AND NAVY:
1. DEFINE THE OBJECTIVES OF EACH DISCIPLINE FOR THE FEASIBILITY, SPACEFLIGHT
TESTING, AND OPERATIONAL PHASES OF NASA's EARTH RESOURCES SURVEY PROGRAM
2. ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF COLLECTING USEFUL EARTH RESOURCES DATA FROM
SPACECRAFT
3. STUDY AND DOCUMENT THE ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATION FOR EARTH RESOURCES
SURVEYING AND DATA COLLECTION FROM SPACE
4. ESTABLISH INSTRUMENT REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR EARTH RESOURCES
SURVEYING FROM SPACE
5. DOCUMENT THE DATA ACQUISITION PRIORITIES AND REQUIREMENTS (AREAL COVERAGE,
TIMING, FREQUENCY OF COVERAGE) FOR EARTH RESOURCES SURVEYS DURING AIRCRAFT,
SPACEFLIGHT TESTING AND OPERATIONAL PHASES
6. PERIODICALLY DOCUMENT SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS MADE BY EACH DISCIPLINE DURING
THE AIR AND SPACEBORNE PHASES OF THE PROGRAM
7. DEVELOP METHODS FOR UTILIZING EARTH RESOURCES DATA COLLECTED FROM SPACE
NASA SA66-15795
7-26-66
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 OBJECTIVES
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OAK I aE ?FC S F EY P A
APPLICATIONS
1. TO DETERMINE THOSE NATURAL AND
CULTURAL RESOURCE PHENOMENA WHICH
CAN BE BEST ACQUIRED FROM SPACE
FOR THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF THE
NATION AND' MANKIND.
TO DEVELOP THE BEST COMBINATION
OF SPACE FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS, SUB
SYSTEMS, OBSERVATIONAL PROCEDURES,
AND INTERPRETATIONAL TECHNIQUES
FOR GATHERING NATURAL AND CULTURAL
RESOURCE DATA AND TO TEST THESE
WITH AN EVOLUTIONARY SERIES OF
EXPERIMENTAL MANNED AND UNMANNED
SPACECRAFT.
AGRICULTURE AID FORESTRY PRODUCTION
GATHER DATA ON PLANT VIGOR AND DISEASE IN ORDER TO AID
I N THE INCREASE OF AGRICULTURE AND FOREST PRODUCTION.
GEOGRAPHY, CARTOGRAPHY, CULTURAL RESOURCES
GATHER DATA TO PERMIT BETTER USE OF RURAL AND METRO-
POLITIAN LAND AREAS AND TO UPDATE TOPOGRAPHIC BASE
MAPS AND CENSUS INVENTORIES.
GEOLOGY AND IYsI:ERAL RESOURCES
GATHER DATA TO AID I N 1) THE DISCOVERY AND EXPLOITATION
OF MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES; 2) THE PREDICTION
OF NATURAL DISASTERS.
HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES
GATHER DATA TO AID IN THE LOCATION AND BETTER USACE OF
WATER RESOURCES.
OCEAN CG RAPHY AND VOARIPIE RESOURCES
GATHER DATA TO AID I N OCEAN TRANSPORTATION AND TO A I D
IN BETTER UTILIZATION OF FISHERIES.
NASA HQ SA67-15106
10-5-66
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 Approved For Release 2007/11/28: CIA-RDP79B01709A000300050001-3
U. S. TEST SITES
LEGEND
1- GEOLOGY
2- HYDROLOGY
3- AGF!CULTURE
4- GEOGRAPHY
5- OCEANOGRAPHY
6- TWO OR MORE OF THE FIRST 5
* FUNDAMENTAL SITES
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NASA SB65-16155
REV. 1-6-66
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En M"
VASA
RESOD ACES SURVEY AIRCRAFT
COVAF 0-A SHOW I STRUi]ET M T L 0 C A T10
rM S
N IICR.0tIJ A ME WIO IETER-
NIR-62 AND MR-64
NASA HQ SA67-15152 10-13-66 '
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AN/CAS-5 UL T 1fOLET
SCANNER CONTROL
t,
SCAT ,R AD
3
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AGRICULTURAL GEOGRAPHIC GEOLOGIC HYDROLOGIC OCEANOGRAPHIC
TABLE 1 /I7//uI7J/J////A/4//V//
ANTICIPATED APPLICATIONS OF A ~0~~%j%///_~~?2~~?~~% %//~J~%%//%~%%%%/J%
EARTH RESOURCES DATA ; ~' AZ' ~~
4
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